Sam Wittmer<\/p>\n
The French and American revolutions developed from each other\u2019s ideas and actions concerning oppressors.\u00a0 The American Revolution took inspiration from ideas that were circulating around France, inspiring the Declaration of Independence. Six years after the States became officially independent from Britain, the National Assembly of France released The Declaration of Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which shows influence from the Declaration of Independence.\u00a0 These documents aim to highlight the natural rights of man, all stemming from the right of men to opportunity\u2014authorized by the nation\u2019s people and God.<\/em><\/p>\n There are different forms of the right to opportunity.\u00a0 Prominent is the complaint against economic hindrance, both personal and in terms of the group for which the document speaks.\u00a0 For the Declaration of Independence, two of the grievances are Britain\u2019s \u201ccutting off Trade with all parts of the world,\u201d and \u201cimposing Taxes without our consent.\u201d[1]<\/a>\u00a0 The National assembly of France, creating the Declaration of the rights of man, twice highlights Man\u2019s right to property. In the second Right, it is part of the \u201cimprescriptible\u201d rights of man; \u201cLiberty, Property, Security, and Resistance of Oppression.\u201d[2]<\/a> Then, in the seventeenth Right, as property being \u201cinviolable and sacred\u201d and that \u201cno one ought to be deprived of it.\u201d[3]<\/a> The natural economic rights are featured in both documents because the livelihood of the people depended on their physical property. Most opportunity relied on what a person could do with their assets\u2014and therefore have a right to prosper in this respect.<\/p>\n The documents also demand rights to making their own decisions.\u00a0 In the colonies, independent assemblies were restricted, soldiers were quartered in civilians\u2019 houses, and migration to the colonies was restricted.\u00a0 The grievance is that external forces were regulating the opportunity for the colonies to better themselves. \u00a0In France, the nobility and clergy consumed the products of the bourgeoisie, while they produced nothing themselves.\u00a0 While doing this, they also had a bar that the \u201clower\u201d class could reach but never pass.\u00a0 Sieyes says that the words of the nobility are, \u201c \u2018No matter how useful you are\u2026you can go so far and no further.\u201d[4]<\/a>\u00a0 With this system there is no opportunity to advance, therefore, the Assembly requires that honors be available to all people.<\/p>\n The documents derive the support for these natural rights from different sources, though they share similar elements.\u00a0 The natural rights of the Declaration of Independence come from divine power: God being mentioned three times.\u00a0 But there are tones that it is the voice of the people who accredit these rights as well.\u00a0 In the French documents, the people of the third estate are responsible for these rights.\u00a0 They are the majority who produce and could function as a separate state, and therefore accredit the natural rights.\u00a0 But God is<\/em> mentioned as the Assembly asks for the Supreme Being\u2019s blessing before stating the rights of man.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Representatives of the United States, \u201cThe Declaration of Independence,\u201d in The Communist Manifesto and other Revolutionary Writings<\/em>, ed. Bob Blaisdell (Mineola: Dover Publications, 2003), 65.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n [2]<\/a> National Assembly of France, \u201cDeclaration of the Rights of Man,\u201d in The Communist Manifesto and other Revolutionary Writings<\/em>, ed. Bob Blaisdell (Mineola: Dover Publications, 2003), 80.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n [3]<\/a> National Assembly of France, \u201cDeclaration of the Rights of Man,\u201d 81.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n [4]<\/a> Emmanuel Joseph Sieyes, \u201cWhat is the Third Estate?,\u201d in The Communist Manifesto and other Revolutionary Writings<\/em>, ed. Bob Blaisdell (Mineola: Dover Publications, 2003), 72.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sam Wittmer The French and American revolutions developed from each other\u2019s ideas and actions concerning oppressors.\u00a0 The American Revolution took inspiration from ideas that were circulating around France, inspiring the Declaration of Independence. Six years after the States became officially … Continue reading
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